Alabama vs USC Preview with Trojan Beat Writer on The Game [Audio]

It's nearly here: Alabama and USC. There is only one Saturday between now and the showdown in Dallas, so it's only natural to get a preview of the Trojans from someone who covers them out in Los Angeles: Ryan Abraham of USCTrojans.com.

The quarterback battle for the Crimson Tide has been a big conversation in Tuscaloosa, but in Southern Cal, they're putting all their eggs into the Max Browne basket. Browne is just the next in the line of great USC quarterbacks, so Fowler asked Abraham what his strengths and weaknesses are on the field.

"I like his arm strength. Weakness-wise, it would be his mobility, he's not a very mobile quarterback. But he's one of those guys that studies a lot of film, he seems to know the offense very well, has a strong enough arm... All the coaces that we talk to really mention a lot of the stuff off the field, what he's able to do in meeting rooms."

If there has been an Achilles Heel for Nick Saban and the Tide over the past few years, it's been the implementation of an up-tempo, no-huddle offense gameplan against them. USC does reside in the Pac-12 Conference, a conference known for its high-caliber offensive teams such as Oregon, Arizona, Arizona State, and Washington State, so will the Trojans attempt to attack the Tide in that same kind of manner, or will they go about it in a different fashion?

"You're seeing some elements of that [Steve Sarkisian up-tempo offense], there's not huddling, so they are doing like a 'no-huddle' sort of thing. But it's one of those no-huddles where you look over to the sidelines a lot and there's kind of a lot of delay. It's certainly not like an Oregon where it's just basketball on grass. I think they can do that every once in a while, but that doesn't seem to be what the identity of this team is."

You can hear Ryan Fowler inside "The Game" each weekday from 2-6 PM.